We have barely scratched the surface of human trafficking

A charity has said the human trafficking cases that have been exposed so far are just the tip of the iceberg.

Following the suicide of migrant worker Viktor Fejes, Hope For Justice said forced labour was a huge problem that could lead to victims taking desperate measures.

Director of operations Allan Doherty said: “It is not the first case where this has happened.

“Being a victim of human trafficking is one of the most awful things that can happen and some people will be affected in this way”.

He said that the crimes were extremely complicated cases but that progress was being made.

“I believe that human trafficking is one of the most difficult things to investigate because of the complexity of the crime, the way that people can be ignorant to the signs and because people sometimes do not see themselves as being a victim of crime,” he said.

Mr Doherty said many workers did not know the real names of their minders.

He said the alias ‘Kacsa’ came up repeatedly in different interviews before it was connected to Janos Orsos, who was jailed for five years in May.

“As a result of a lot of investigations we realised the name was linked a lot of victims,” he said.

He said many victims would fall back into the hands of criminal gangs that without plans in place to offer them housing, training and work experience.

The first meeting of the West Yorkshire Anti-Human Trafficking Network took place this week.

Itwill share information, training and lay out plans.

The group will combine the resources and expertise of West Yorkshire Police, the police and crime commissioner, and the county’s five local authorities.

Mr Doherty said: “We are seeing improvements but this is just the tip of the iceberg.”